U.S. Navy photo by Bill Mesta/Released
Here’s the latest on the coronavirus in New York:
Latest Numbers
Yesterday night, Mayor de Blasio announced that there are over 23,112 coronavirus cases in New York City and 365 people have died. Some of the deaths announced yesterday included a New York City nurse, the architectural critic Michael Sorkin, an MTA subway conductor and bus operator. New York State Department of Health website was last updated yesterday at 1:49 PM, with New York City cases at 37,258 state wide.
The FDNY says 170 of its force has coronavirus, and the NYPD Deputy Police Commissioner for counterterrorism and intelligence John Miller has been hospitalized with coronavirus symptoms. Meanwhile, Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton, who was one of the first high-profile New Yorkers to test positive, has fully recovered.
USNS Comfort Ship Will Arrive Monday
Ahead of schedule, the USNS Comfort will depart Virginia tomorrow and will arrive to New York Harbor on Sunday. It won’t be a treatment center for coronavirus patients, but will perform surgeries and other critical care for hospitals that are overrun with coronavirus care.
Governor Cuomo Looking for More Temporary Hospital Sites
Cuomo is looking to find more temporary hospital sites and is visiting places like the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, CUNY Staten Island, Aqueduct Racetrack near JFK Airport, and NY Expo Center in the Bronx. In yesterday’s press conference, he said “Our goal is to have a 1,000-plus overflow facility in each of the boroughs downstate in the counties, Queens, Brooklyn, the New York City boroughs, Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island and Long Island, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester and Rockland, so every county has a 1000-plus-bed overflow facility and that’s what we’re working on at the same time, as well as increasing the capacity of the existing hospital system.”
Brooklyn Navy Yard Making Shields for Hospitals
1.5 million face shields will be produced in the Brooklyn Navy Yard over the next few months, to be made by several manufacturers. 1.2 million hospital gowns will also be produced there. In an interview we did with Brooklyn Navy Yard President David Ehrenberg back in 2018, when asked about the Navy Yard’s long term role in industrial production for the next century, he told us, “What about medical tech? Does it belong half a mile from the greatest concentration of research hospitals in the world? All of those next generation tech applications just scream out New York City.”
Boris Johnson and Prince Charles Test Positive for Coronavirus
The UK, which resisted calls for social distancing and containment measures, has two high profile cases: Boris Johnson and Prince Charles.
Upcoming Untapped New York Virtual Tours
Registration is open for our next two virtual tours and talks. First up on Tuesday March 31 will be an artist talk with Aaron Asis, who has been documenting the city’s empty spaces since the onset of the coronavirus crisis. On Thursday April 2 will be a tour of Flushing Town Hall, with a violin performance by the deputy director. This virtual content is free and exclusive to our Insiders. Insiders also get a discount on a virtual tour of Grand Central.
Please stay safe, readers. We are thinking of you. If you are able, you can support Untapped New York through these challenging times by reading and sharing our content, buying our book Secret Brooklyn, and dream about future tours by getting a gift card! Sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter here for all the latest news.
Please reach out to us with any questions, comments, or ideas — we’ve heard from many of you directly and the messages have been very heartening. The best way to reach us is through email, as our customer service phone line has been inundated. For questions about tours, contact [email protected]. For questions regarding our Insiders member events, you can email [email protected]. For editorial and general comments and questions, email [email protected].
